Magazine



w. E. PLMER Feb. 1, 1955 MAGAZINE Filed June 23, 1952 WILLIAM E. PALMER INVENTOR.

ATTQRNEY United States Patent O MAGAZINE William E. Palmer, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Swift & Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application June 23, 1952, Serial No. 294,977

4 Claims. (Cl. 221-75) The present invention relates to a magazine for the storage of a plurality of units and for the discharge of those units one 'at a time.

In the past, various devices have been proposed for separately feeding a series of similar articles, such as cans of food or the like. In many installations such devices have proven to be satisfactory, but, where the individual articles, while generally similar, are not exactly identical, considerable difficulty has been encountered. The principal object of the present invention is to provide a device which will hold a plurality of units and discharge them one by one, even though there is some variation in the size and the shape of the units from one to another.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device which will perform such a job, even though the objects to be handled are not circular or even curvilinear in cross section. The majority, if not all, of the prior devices for performing this task functioned only with units such as cans of food which had a circular cross section.

A principal advantage of the invention is its simplicity, which makes it easy and inexpensive to construct. Furthermore, by reason of its simplicity, there is little to get out of order and the device requires little maintenance, Despite this simplicity, it is positive in its action.

An additional advantage lies in the ease and speed with which the device may be loaded. lt is particularly adapted for loading from a bin, chute or the like.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

Figure l is an elevation of an embodiment of the invention, and

Figure 2 is a section taken at line 2 2 of Figure 1, and showing several units in the magazine.

The embodiment herein described has been devised for the handling of frankfurters. While frankfurters are generally circular in cross section, the diameter of the circular cross section will vary and in some instances the cross section is not a true circle. Furthermore, in many cases the frankfurters have curled during their manufacturing operation so that the longitudinal axis rather than being straight is curved in the general form of an arc of a circle. The embodiment illustrated in the drawings comprises a frame 10, on which are mounted a plurality of levers, generally 11, which are bent from sheet metal. The length of the levers is roughly equivalent to the length of the frankfurters. The levers are secured to rods 12 with the rods being journaled in frame so as to form a pivotal mounting for the levers. The levers 11 are mounted in pairs, as shown in Figure 2, with the pivotal points of each of the levers being spaced from each other a distance greater than the thickness of the units, frankfurters 13, which are to be held in the magazine. The pairs of levers 11 are positioned sequentially to define a path of travel of the frankfurters 13 through the magazine.

Each lever 11 is bent to form an upper arm 15 and a lower arm 16, which extend from the pivotal rod 12 into the path of travel of the frankfurters 13 through the magazine. Part way along upper arms 15, a return bend is made in the sheet metal of which the lever 11 is formed, as illustrated at 17, so that the upper arm 15 forms a side 18 of an inclined chute.

At the upper end of upper arm 15 is attached a shaft 20 which is journaled in a roller 21. Similarly at the v2,701,077 Patented Feb. 1, 1955 ICC lower end of the lower arm 16 is attached a shaft 22 on which is rotatably mounted a roller 23.

A counterbalance 24 is attached to lever 11 and extends rearwardly to the other side of rod 12 from arms 15 and 16.

At the lower end of the magazine is a means for holding the frankfurters in the magazine, including a pair of gates 26 and 27, respectively, secured to shafts 28 and 29, respectively. A lever 31 is attached to one end of shaft 28, while a lever 32 is attached to the same end of shaft 29. An interconnecting lever 33 is loosely pinned at one end to lever 31 by rivet 34 and is loosely attached at the other end to lever 32 by a pin 35. A spring 37 is secured at one end to frame 10 and at the other end is hooked on pin 35.

It will be apparent that a downward pressure applied to pin 35 will pivot gates 26 and 27 downwardly against the resistance of spring 37 so as to allow the lower frankfurter in the magazine to drop from the magazine. Removal of the pressure on pin 35 will alow spring 37 to return to gates 26 and 27 to the position illustrated in Figure 2. Should the device not be used for storage but only for achieving spacing, the gates may be eliminated.

From Figure 2 it will be noted that the upper and lower arms 15 and 16, respectively, of levers 11 normally extend suciently close together to prevent a frankfurter 13 from passing between either the upper arms 15 of a pair of levers 11 or the lower arms 16 of a pair of levers 11 without a pivotal movement of the levers about the axis of rods 12. The counterbalances 24 suspend the levers 11 in such position. If the levers lll are not otherwise restrained and a frankfurter contacts the upper rollers 21, as illustrated, by frankfurter 131', the weight of the frankfurter against the two rollers will swing the upper ends of the levers away from each other, as illustrated by arrows 40 and 41, so as to permit the frankfurter to slide down between the sides 18 and to drop against the lower rollers 23. The fall of the frankfurter against the lower rollers pivots the levers 11 in a direction opposite to that shown by arrows 40 and 41 so as to permit the frankfurter to pass between the lower rollers.

The mounting of the levers 11 so that a frankfurter will not pass between the upper or lower ends of the levers when they are in their normal position, as just discussed, gives a different action to the magazine than is achieved either in the case when the upper ends of the levers are wide apart with the lower ends much closer together, or the case where the upper ends are normally close together with the lower ends being widely spaced. In either of the latter two cases, the frankfurters only strike the levers once for each pair of levers, and when the magazine is relatively empty so that the frankfurter is proceeding freely through several sets: of levers, there is little obstruction to the movement of the frankfurters through the magazine. Because of this lack of obstruction there is a tendency for the frankfurters to nose dive; that is, for one end to fall faster than the other, and when this occurs it results in a jamming of the magazine. With the mounting of the levers as discussed in the preceding paragraph, the frankfurters are slowed down in their movement and maintained in a horizontal alignment. With the horizontal alignment the frankfurters pass through both ends of th levers evenly and do not jam the magazine, as in the two cases where the ends of the levers are not relatively evenly spaced.

However, if a frankfurter such as frankfurter 13" contacts a pair of upper rollers 21 when the space linmediately below is occupied by a frankfurter such as frankfurter 13', the levers 11 cannot pivot in the direction illustrated by arrows 40 and 41 because the frankfurter 13 between the lower rollers 23 prevents those rollers from moving toward each other. Thus, in any section of the magazine when the movement of the lower ends 16 of a pair of levers 11 is blocked by a frankfurter, the upper ends 15 of that pair of levers 11 will support a frankfurter thereon, which frankfurter will in turn block the movement of the lower ends of the pair of levers immediately above the first pair.

Should gates 26 and 27 be opened and the lowermost frankfurter 13"' discharged, the lowermost pair of levers 11 would then be free to pivot in the direction indicated by arrows 40 and 41, permitting the next frankfurter 13" to fall into the space initially occupied by frankfurter 13"'. Similarly, each frankfurter in the magazine would drop down one step.

The use of pairs of levers, as described herein, enables my invention to handle irregularly-shaped objects as well as objects in which there is a substantial variation in size from one to another. Furthermore, it permits the use of construction tolerances that are not particularly critical. The upper and lower pairs of rollers provide a smooth action and facilitate the handling of objects that are not circular or even curvilinear.

The foregoing description of a specific embodiment is for the purpose of complying with 35 U. S. C. 112, and should not be construed as imposing unnecessary limitations upon the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A magazine for objects of a given size, said magazine including a frame, a plurality of levers positioned in pairs sequentially along a generally vertical path for said objects, the length of said levers being about equal to the length of said objects, each pair of said levers being pivotally attached to said frame at points spaced from each other a distance greater than the thickness of said objects, each of said levers having upper and lower portions movable into and out of said path, said levers being free to pivot from a first position at which the object will pass between the upper ends of a pair of levers and will be restrained from passing between the lower ends thereof to a second position at which the object will pass between the lower ends of said pair of levers and will be restrained from passing between the upper ends thereof, means attached to each pair of levers to position each pair of levers, when an object is not contacting said pair, with portions of the levers, both above and below the pivotal attachment to the frame, closer together than the thickness of said objects, the sequential levers being positioned sufficiently close together that when said levers of one pair are in said second position and an object is being restrained from passing between the upper ends of said pair, the pair of levers immediately thereabove will be held substantially in said second position, and means to releasably hold an object between the lower ends of the lower pair of levers.

2. A magazine for objects of a given size, said magazine including a frame, a plurality of levers positioned in pairs sequentially along a generally vertical path for said objects, each of said levers having a roller across either end thereof, the length of said levers being about equal to the length of said objects, each pair of said levers being pivotally attached to said frame at points spaced from each other a distance greater than the thickness of said objects, each of said levers having upper and lower portions movable into and out of said path, the said levers being free to pivot from a rst position at which the object will pass between the upper ends of a pair of levers and will be restrained from passing between the lower ends thereof to a second position. at which the object will pass between the lower ends of said pair of levers and will be restrained from passing between the upper ends thereof, means attached -to each pair of levers to position each pair of levers, when an object is not contacting said pair, with portions of the levers, both above and below the pivotal attachment to the frame, closer together than the thickness of said objects, the sequential levers being positioned suilciently close together that when said levers of one pair are in said second position and an object is being restrained from passing between the upper ends of said pair, the pair of levers immediately thereabove will be held substantially in said second position, and means to releasably hold an object between the lower ends of the lower pair of levers.

3. A magazine for objects of a given size, said magazine including a frame, a plurality of levers positioned in pairs sequentially along a generally vertical path for said objects, the length of said levers being about equal to the length of said object, each pair of said levers being pivotally attached to said frame at points spaced from each other a distance greater than the thickness of said objects, counterbalance means attached to said levers to normally suspend the levers of a pair in a given position when an object is not contacting said pair, portions of each of said levers to either side of the pivot point thereof extending from said pivot point into said path with the space between the respective portions of a pair of levers being less than the thickness of an object when said levers are in said given position, the upper end of the upper portion of the levers having the inner side thereof slanting away from said path from a point on the lever spaced from the end thereof, whereby said sides of the two levers of a pair have the configuration of the sides of a trough and form a supporting surface for an object, the lower ends of a pair of levers forming a pair of feelers, said pairs of levers being positioned along said path with said supporting surface of one pair of levers closer to said feelers of the pair of levers next above said one pair than the thickness of said objects.

4. A magazine for objects of a given size, said magazine including a frame, a plurality of levers positioned in pairs sequentially along a generally vertical path for said objects, the length of said levers being about equal to the length of said objects, each pair of said levers being pivotally attached to said frame at points spaced from each other a distance greater than the thickness of said objects, por-l tions of each of said levers to either side of the pivot point thereof extending into said path toward the other lever of the respective pair, and counterbalance means attached to each of said levers to normally suspend said levers in a given position when no objects are contacting the pair of levers, the respective portions of each of said pair being closer together than the thickness of said objects when said levers are in said given position, said levers being positioned with the lower portion of the levers of one pair closer to the upper portion of the next lower pair than the thickness of said objects.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,711,021 Hoopes Apr. 30, 1929 1,773,306 Gertner Aug. 19, 1930 1,773,885 Staley Aug. 26, 1930 1,841,926 Zuehl Jan. 19, 1932 2,297,330 Schoepfer Sept. 29, 1942 

